Minamishinshu Beer Company is a craft beer brewery located in Komagane, in Nagano prefecture. The brewery started up in 1996, soon after the deregulation of brewing capacities in 1994, and was the first craft beer brewery in Nagano at the time. Like most other breweries at the time, Minamishinshu Beer company started out as an offshoot of Komagatake Shuzo, a local sake manufacturer that was looking to branch out with their alcohol production. In the beginning, they started out with four main beers based on German styles and have slowly branched out their range of beers to include some non-German beers as well as some seasonal beers too.
Minamishinshu Beer Company Main Lineup
The following beers can be found all-year round:
- Minamishinshu Beer Golden Ale – a 5% golden / blonde ale that has won two awards at the Japan Beer Grand Prix in 2000 and 2003.
- Minamishinshu Beer Amber Ale – a 5.5% amber ale that received the highest ever score at the Japan Beer Grand Prix.
- Minamishinshu Beer Dunkel Weizen – a 6% dunkelweizen, or dark wheat, beer that is brewed using a traditional German recipe that is best served at 10°c
- Minamishinshu Beer Ki no Sato – a 4.5% golden / blonde ale that is similar to their Golden Ale but uses locally sourced water from the Southern Alps.
- Minamishinshu Beer Apple Hop – a 6.5% fruit beer that is technically a happoshu due to the high amount of Shinshu apples used and low malt content.
Minamishinshu Beer Company Seasonal Lineup
The following beers can be found during specific times of the year:
- Minamishinshu Beer Porter – a 6% porter that is brewed to an English recipe. On sale during January and February.
- Minamishinshu Beer IPA – a 6% IPA that uses four times as many hops than their regular ale. On sale during March and April.
- Minamishinshu Beer Blueberry Hop – a 6.5% fruit beer that is technically a happoshu due to the amount of blueberries and low malt content. On sale in spring.
- Minamishinshu Beer Komagatake Ale – a 6.5% version of the Golden Ale. On sale during May and June.
- Minamishinshu Beer Alps Weizen – a 4.5% German hefeweizen with a twist. On sale during July and August.
- Minamishinshu Beer Oktoberfest – a 6% märzen style beer that is brewed to a traditional German recipe. On sale during September and October.
- Minamishinshu Beer Christmas Ale – a 7.5% English strong ale beer that is the strongest beer made by Minamishinshu Beer Company. On sale during November and December.
- Minamishinshu Wonder Barley Akane – an 8.5% barleywine that is a collaborative beer with WoWoW TV network.
Minamishinshu Beer Company Details
Address: 〒399-4301 Nagano-ken, Kamiina-gun, Miyada-mura 4752-31
Phone: 0265-85-5777
Homepage (in Japanese): http://www.ms-beer.co.jp/index.html
Online Store: http://ms-beer.co.jp/beer/shopping/shopping-list/
